(A/N: I apologize for the long delay. But I think you will be very satisfied with this chapter. It's wedding time! Happy reading!)
BRYCE'S POV
On the morning of June 19, 1970, I'm buttoning up my best suit jacket while gazing into my bedroom mirror. It was a different experience waking up this morning, knowing it would be my last morning I would ever have to wake up alone. Today starts a new chapter in my life, but one I couldn't be more thrilled about or excited to experience.
I comb my hair and rub in a small amount of hair gel when Garrett, my best man, opens the door, knocking on it gently.
"Hey, you look like a groom," he says with a smile.
I blush and study my appearance in the mirror. "I should. I am a groom."
He laughs and walks toward me. "I know, I know. I'm just teasing you."
"Bryce, everyone is ready to head to the church," Ben, my college roommate, says as he walks into the room. I stare at my two best friends and I can't help but shake my head. I wouldn't want anyone else to stand by my side today as I marry Juli.
"You guys look terrific," I tell them as I finish tying my bowtie around my neck.
"Not as good as you, my brother," Garrett says as he pats my shoulder. He studies me in the mirror. "Can you believe we're actually here today? You're marrying Juli Baker, the girl I used to tease."
"Yeah, you made fun of me for liking her to the point that it ruined our friendship."
He sighs and shakes his head. "I was a fool. An immature fool."
I shake my head and turn towards him. "It's long forgotten."
He extends his left hand and grins. "Brothers forever? Even though you're going to be a tired old husband."
Laughing, I shake his hand. "Brothers forever."
"Hey, hey! I want in on this," Ben calls out, walking towards us. He wraps his arms around my shoulders in a warm hug. "I'm so happy for you. You're a lucky man."
I step away from him. "I know. Thank you."
As we move toward the bedroom door, I step aside for them to walk out of the room first. I take one last look at my childhood bedroom—knowing this is the last time I will ever be in this room quite the same way. I walk over and grab the large bundle I left on my desk from last night. Can't forget this. I flip the light switch and close the door behind me before I would let the tears come. I don't have time to cry today.
I have a wedding to get to.
JULI'S POV
"Oh, you look so beautiful!" my mom exclaims as she stares at me standing in front of the floor-length mirror.
"Thank you, Mom."
I turn back to look in the mirror. It's true; I have never felt more beautiful than I do right this moment—standing here in my long, lacey wedding dress. My hair is curled and half of it is pinned up in a beautiful bun while the other half is cascading down my back. I feel like a princess—minus the tiara.
"Juli, you look stunning," Amy says as she walks up to me.
She's wearing her lavender bridesmaid dress and carrying her small bouquet of peonies. She wraps her arms around my shoulders, embracing me with a warm hug.
"So do you," I whisper into her ear.
She steps back and shakes her head. "Not as beautiful as you. You're the bride!"
"Yeah, listen to her, sis. You're gorgeous," Lynetta says as she walks into the room, wearing an identical bridesmaid dress to Amy's. "Bryce is going to show you some love tonight."
I blush and glance down at my mom, who quickly looks away. "Thanks, Lynetta."
She winks and rolls her eyes. "Oh, come on. We're all grown women with men in our lives. Even Amy, right?"
I glance toward Amy, who nervously looks away. "Reed and I didn't exactly work out the way I hoped."
"What happened?" I ask as I sit down in front of the mirror to study my makeup.
"I guess he was just meant to be a crush, but not a boyfriend. Does that make sense?"
"You mean, you liked the way he looked but not who he really was?" Lynetta asks.
"Something like that," Amy says as she sits down in front of me in our bridal suite. She nervously smooths the layers of her dress. "It's okay, though. I know there are other fish in the sea."
"That's right, dear. You're still very young," my mom says, reassuring my best friend.
The door opens, and my father peeks his head inside the bridal suite, closing his eyes.
"Is everyone decent in here?" he asks with a grin.
"Daddy," I whisper.
He walks into the room and opens his eyes. When he sees me, he stops walking. He only stares, frozen in place. He opens his mouth to speak, but there are no words. He shakes his head and I see him quickly brush away a tear.
"Julianna, you're beautiful," he whispers.
"Oh, Daddy," I whisper, walking towards him. I wrap my arms around his waist and he gently runs his fingers through my curled hair.
"You're all grown up now," he tells me, his voice only above a whisper. I step away from him and look up into his eyes.
"I'm still your little girl."
"You'll always be my little girl," he corrects.
"Our little girl," my mom corrects us both, walking up to us. She puts her hands on both of our shoulders and then she turns to look at me. "We're so happy for you, Juli. You chose a wonderful man who we know will make you very happy and safe. We wish you both a lifetime of happiness."
It's hard to hold back tears, but when your parents tell you how proud they are of you, how can you not be emotional? I hug them both once more, holding back the tears, before Lynetta clears her throat.
"I hate to interrupt this tender moment, but I think we're ready to start the wedding," she says as she opens the door. She glances out into the hallway and then looks back at me. "Yeah, it's showtime, Mrs. Loski."
I blush at the sound of my soon-to-be new name. Amy runs up to me and gives me a quick hug.
"I'll see you down at the end of the aisle!"
Lynetta and Amy rush out of the suite and my mom follows them to go to her seat. I stay back with my dad—for one last time.
"Julianna," my dad whispers.
"Yes, Dad?"
He turns to me and smiles. "I love you more than you'll ever know."
"I love you, too, Daddy."
Again, the tears want to come, but there's no time to cry today. I have a wedding to get to. We walk to the door and we're off.
I can't wait to see Bryce at the end of the aisle.
BRYCE'S POV
She's walking towards me. Juli Baker—the woman I have loved for so many years—is walking towards me in the most beautiful white dress I have ever seen. Of course, I knew she would be gorgeous. It's Juli, after all.
But while the dress is beautiful, nothing is more stunning than the glowing smile on her face. She's staring at me, her eyes wide to match her wide grin. And as I watch her walk down the aisle, I know this is my future walking towards me. She's my future. She's everything to me and I know that from this day forward, we're going to be together—as husband and wife.
When she reaches the end of the aisle, she turns to her father, who gives her a quick kiss on the cheek. The preacher asks who gives this woman away, and her father turns to her and then looks at me.
"Her mother and I are so proud to present this woman to her husband," he announces.
Juli smiles and squeezes her father's hand before walking towards me. I wrap my hands around hers and we stand before the preacher, ready for the ceremony to begin.
Well, ready for the rest of our lives to begin.
JULI'S POV
"We are gathered here today to celebrate with Bryce and Juli as they proclaim their love and commitment to the world. We are gathered to rejoice, with and for them, in the new life they now undertake together," Pastor Evans begins.
I squeeze Bryce's hands and he winks at me. While we're supposed to be paying attention to the preacher, I can't take my eyes off my future husband—no matter how hard I try.
"Bryce and Juli, the relationship you enter into today must be grounded in the strength of your love and the power of your faith in each other. To make your relationship succeed, it will take unending love. It will take trust, to know in your hearts that you truly want what is best for one another and to learn and grow together," Pastor Evans says. "Now, I know you two have literally grown up together, so you've seen each other change in more ways than I see in most couples. So, I'm more than confident you will move forward together with whatever the future holds in the most beautiful way. You will understand the responsibility and work involved to make your relationship thrive, as you have already done so since your junior high years. If you still hold true to these commitments, repeat after me, we do."
"We do," we say in unison.
Pastor Evans smiles and nods his head. "I thought so."
Everyone laughs and we turn to the pastor. He giggles softly and speaks to our family and friends.
"Juli and Bryce prepared their own vows, which they will recite now," he says. He turns to Bryce. "Bryce, you may begin."
I notice Bryce gulp as he turns and takes a large bundled package from Garrett. What...What's this?
Bryce smiles as he turns back to me. He sighs and opens the package, taking out a leather-bound journal.
"Juli, when we first started going together in junior high, I hoped and prayed for this day. I hoped you would be the one I would spend the rest of my life with, and I'm glad to see we made it to this day. It wasn't always easy. We had our fair share of ups and downs, but we always made it back up the rollercoaster," he tells me.
He opens the journal. "I started writing a diary to document our relationship. I wrote everything down, from our first date to the first time we said, 'I love you,' to when we broke up in high school, when we got back together, when we went off to college, and everything in between. It's our relationship in print form."
"When we got engaged, I decided I would type everything out again and put it in a journal for you. It's something we can keep forever. This is our love story—right here. And hopefully, we'll have many more stories to write down in this little book."
He holds up the journal and looks in my eyes. "I decided to call it Flipped. Because in junior high, I definitely flipped my feelings for you. I fell hard for you, and there was a time when you flipped and didn't like me that much. I was stupid. But somehow, we both flipped at the same time and we fell in love. Throughout the course of our relationship, we continued to flip and fall harder."
He hands the journal to me. At this point, I'm not even trying to hide the tears. "This is my commitment and vow to you. I promise to be your everlasting companion. You have brought me the brightest happiness I have ever known. I take joy in committing my life to yours. So, with everything in my being, I promise to love and cherish you for all the days of my life."
Without thinking, I reach up and wrap my arms around his neck, pulling him close to me. I don't care who's watching. His vows...this journal...It's the most beautiful gift I have ever received.
"Bryce, thank you so much. This is beautiful," I whisper.
He pulls away from me and wipes the tears from my cheek. "You're welcome."
Pastor Evans manages to clear his throat, interrupting our trance. We're pulled back into the moment, and the pastor turns to Bryce.
"That was...Wow, that was beautiful, Bryce," he says. He motions to Garrett, who hands Bryce my wedding band. "Okay, Bryce, repeat after me. With this ring, I, Bryce James Loski, promise to stand with you as we share this life, and cherish the memories we make together."
"With this ring, I, Bryce James Loski, promise to stand with you as we share this life, and cherish the memories we make together," Bryce says as he slips the wedding band onto my left hand—right where it belongs.
Pastor Evans smiles and turns to me. "Juli, you may recite your vows."
BRYCE'S POV
Juli blushes as she turns to Amy, who hands her a slip of paper. She opens it and then turns back to me. She smiles as she glances up to look at me.
"I think you won with the best vows," she jokes. Everyone laughs around us.
"No, no, yours will be beautiful, too," I reassure her.
She clears her throat and looks at her paper. "Bryce, what can I say that I haven't already told you? I've loved you since I was in grade school. I've loved you since the first moment I saw you when you moved across the street from me. Did I annoy the heck out of you? Yeah, of course, but I think it worked out for us both."
Again, everyone laughs.
"I guess I just knew you were special. I loved your spirit and your kindness. Sometimes, you didn't want to play with me, but I was never upset with you. I loved you for all the things you were and all the things I knew you could be," she tells me.
She clears her throat and looks back at her paper. "I knew from a young age that you were going to be the boy I would marry. I knew I would have a future with you. Sometimes, I didn't think I would have a future at all if you weren't in it. I don't want a life without you. I can't imagine a world without Bryce Loski. I can't imagine a world without us in love."
"So, from this day forward, I promise with my entire being to be committed to you. I will love you, support you, care for you, and be your best friend for all the days of my life. I will be your person, and I can't wait for you to be mine."
She folds her paper and glances up into my eyes. I gulp and nod my head, not really knowing what else to say. She's going to be my person. My person. My wife. I'm going to be her person. Her husband.
Pastor Evans clears his throat, once again, and interrupts our trance. We're pulled back into the moment and the pastor turns to the guests.
"These childhood sweetheart weddings are the most emotional celebrations," he says with a smile. Our guests laugh and I can't help but smile.
Pastor Evans turns to Juli and Amy steps forward, presenting Juli with my wedding band. "Okay, Juli, repeat after me. With this ring, I, Julianna Elizabeth Baker, promise to stand with you as we share this life, and cherish the memories we make together."
Juli takes my hand and squeezes it gently. "With this ring, I, Julianna Elizabeth Baker, promise to stand with you as we share this life, and cherish the memories we make together."
She slips the wedding band onto my left hand—right where it belongs. I run my thumb over the band, knowing I will never take it off my finger ever again.
Pastor Evans turns to the guests and smiles. "By the power vested in me, and as witnessed by your family and friends, I now pronounce you husband and wife."
Juli squeals and leans back. The guests laugh and Pastor Evans shakes his head. "Go ahead, Bryce, kiss your wife!"
The guests laugh again as I step towards Juli—my wife—and tilt her head towards mine. We kiss and everyone else fades away. In this kiss, we not only seal our marriage, but we seal our future. From now on, it's us—together and forever.
JULI'S POV
"Okay! It's time for you to throw the bouquet!" Lynetta hollers above everyone else. I sit next to Bryce at our reception table in my parent's front yard. We're sitting underneath our sycamore tree. When we started planning our wedding, we both knew exactly where we wanted our reception—underneath the sycamore tree that started our relationship.
Bryce rises from his chair and reaches for my hand. I stand up and walk to the front of the reception. All of the single women gather before me, waiting patiently for me to throw the bouquet. I smile and turn to face the house.
"Here goes nothing!" I shout as I toss the bouquet behind me.
I quickly turn around to see Amy holding the bouquet. Her face is flushed as she stares at the bouquet resting in her hands. She glances up at me and we both laugh.
"I guess you're next!" I call to her.
Bryce walks toward me and wraps his arms around my waist. He leans close to whisper in my ear. "Are you ready to head out of here?"
Our reception wasn't fancy. We didn't have a dinner, but we had a simple white cake. We didn't do much dancing, except our first dance as husband and wife. Bryce and I aren't fans of big, elaborate wedding receptions, so we knew we didn't want much. We had a great time celebrating our marriage with our loved ones and that's all we could ever want.
I nod my head and gaze up into his eyes. "Yes."
He takes my hand and we walk over to our parents, who are sitting on the front porch. "We're getting ready to leave."
"So soon?" my dad asks. I notice my mom nudge his side and she leans over to whisper in his ear. He immediately straightens his posture in the seat and fixes his tie. "Oh, right. Yes, of course."
Bryce and I exchange a knowing glance and smile.
"We're leaving tomorrow for our honeymoon, so we want to be well rested," I tell them.
"You won't be resting tonight," Lynetta interrupts as she walks up to us, holding a plate of cake.
Bryce blushes and rolls his eyes. "Thanks, Lynetta. You always know how to interrupt a conversation."
"Just keeping you on your toes, little brother."
We laugh and turn back to our parents. I step forward. "Thank you so much for everything you've done to help our wedding. It means a lot to us."
"Oh, honey, it's our pleasure," Bryce's mom answer. She stands up from her seat and wraps her arms around me. "Welcome to the family."
I lean back and glance over at my parents. "I guess this is it."
"Yeah, this is it," Bryce repeats, wrapping his arm around my shoulder.
"Well, you two have a lovely time in the Outerbanks. Please, send us a postcard," says my mom.
"Of course, we will. And we'll come visit when we come back home."
"You better," my dad says, standing up from his seat. He hugs us both and kisses my cheek. "I love you."
"I love you, too."
Bryce and I walk to our car and he opens my passenger seat door. Our guests crowd around us, throwing rice into my hair. I laugh and wave good-bye to my friends and family.
We settle into the car and turn to each other. This is it.
BRYCE'S POV
"We hope you enjoy our stay, Mr. and Mrs. Loski," the hotel clerk announces as he hands me our hotel key.
I smile and reach down to grab our luggage. "We will. Thank you."
We turn to the hallway and walk to our hotel room. We stop at the door and stare at it. Neither of us moves forward.
"This is it," Juli whispers.
"Yes," I manage to say.
We turn to each other and grin softly, getting lost in each other's gaze. I move forward and turn the key in the lock, never looking away from her. She smiles and opens the door. We step inside and allow the door to close behind us.
I step the luggage down on the floor and look up at her. She smiles, once again, and I step toward her. I wrap my arms around her waist, holding her close.
This is it.
GENERAL POV
She put her hand on his jaw and touched it, her fingertips drawing his face towards her. He felt electricity shocking him off the ends of her fingers. Yes, she was only touching his face, but he felt her everywhere.
"Are you okay?" Juli asks.
"Yes," Bryce answers. He was sure he would stumble and fall onto the bed, losing her forever if he didn't control his emotions.
"Do you want to do this?" she asks him, gently.
"Yes," he repeated. It's the only word he could say.
His face went closer and closer to hers until he breathed the smell of her white lace dress. He could see the rim of her eyes, and then she kissed him, right on the mouth. The warmth trapped him, her lips pressing into him—penetrating his entire being. Things were off, and Juli kissed him a second time with more passion, moaning in the kiss.
He reached out for her, took her by both arms, and led her to the edge of the bed. They were kissing there, under the shaded light of the motel bedroom, her arms around his waist, him clutching her tight, and he never, ever wanted to let go of this moment.
"Juli," he says, when they finally break apart.
"Yes," she answered, smiling and radiating happiness. Her arms were still around him, drawing him closer to her, lighting him on fire.
"I love you," he whispers, staring into her eyes.
"I love you, too," she whispers in response. All the years of her life that she has waited for this moment, and now it's finally here.
Bryce clears his throat and looks at her once again, fire in his eyes. "Are you...Are you ready?"
Yes," she says, biting her lip. She smiles and reaches down to unbutton his dress shirt, letting it fall to the hotel room floor. "Gosh, yes."
He groans and doesn't need any more convincing. He lifts her body up and wraps her legs around his waist, holding her body firmly next to him. It was a quick movement, him lifting her up and connecting their bodies together. She gasps in surprise, but then moans as Bryce turns and leans them down onto the bed, collapsing into the bedsheets.
He kisses her like he's never kissed her before—both their hands roaming each other's bodies as their lips move together. The kiss is a promise; it's a devotion of love you're unable to express in words.
Instead, it's through action. And for that night, and every night during their honeymoon, Bryce and Juli show their promise to each other in the only way they can.
Through love.
Beautiful, passionate, and pure love.
A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It took a while to write because I wanted it to be perfect. I wanted it to represent their love. Because I currently have 39 chapters, which is remarkable, I will write one more chapter: an epilogue that will provide an update on their lives many years in the future. You'll learn what Bryce and Juli are doing 10, 20, 50 years from now. Stay tuned!
As always,
Fiddlegirl
